Social Democrats TD Liam Quaide has criticised the HSE after the Minister for Mental Health was unable to provide the Dáil with information on approved psychology posts in older adult mental health services.
Deputy Quaide, who is the party’s spokesperson on mental health, said:
“Minister Mary Butler’s failure to answer a straightforward question about workforce levels was disappointing and reflects a wider pattern of obfuscation and deflection by the HSE in its responses to elected representatives.
“I asked the Minister for very basic information – the number of approved psychology posts per population in older adult mental health teams across each health region, and for a breakdown of which integrated health areas have none at all.
“The idea that our national health service cannot say where these posts exist, and where they don’t, should concern us all.
“Psychology has been recognised as a core part of older adult mental health teams since ‘A Vision for Change’ in 2006, which set staffing benchmarks for multidisciplinary services – a commitment that was reaffirmed in ‘Sharing the Vision’ in 2019.
“National mental health policy has long recognised that older people with difficulties such as depression, anxiety, trauma and complex physical illness need proper access to psychological assessment and therapy – not just medication.
“Yet here we are in 2026, and the Minister cannot tell the Dáil how many psychologist posts are approved to work in these teams, or which areas have none.
“I am also concerned about figures from the Mental Health Commission showing a growing number of older adults receiving Electro Convulsive Therapy, with the average age of recipients rising to 64 in 2024. Research also shows that older adults with mental health difficulties are more at risk of unnecessary A&E admissions.
“If we are serious about dignity, autonomy and quality of care in later life, psychology cannot continue to be treated as an optional extra or add-on to services.
“I am calling on the Minister to urgently instruct the HSE to compile and publish region-by-region data on psychology staffing in older adult mental health services, along with a plan to resource teams in line with longstanding government policy.
“Older people and their families have been promised whole-person, community-based mental health care for two decades. It’s time those promises were matched with staffing, funding and honesty about where services are falling short.”
January 23, 2026